Shares of Oshkosh Corp (OSK.N) shot up 16 percent on Friday after billionaire investor Carl Icahn reported a 9.5 percent stake and said he was seeking talks with the specialty truck maker to enhance shareholder value. Oshkosh, which makes tactical vehicles for the military and specialty trucks for construction, is the latest diversified industrial and defense company to be targeted by activist investors for a potential breakup, at a time when defense stocks languish on fears of softening military spending. Shares of Wisconsin-based Oshkosh, which also makes fire and emergency equipment and cement mixers, were 16 percent higher at $33.62 on the New York Stock Exchange in afternoon trading, valuing the firm at more than $3 billion. Analysts said a split of its defense and commercial businesses is a possibility, but some said profits from any sale of assets could remain subject to hefty taxation unless Oshkosh could find a way to spin off the entities.
Oshkosh Corporation (Oshkosh) is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of a range of vehicles and vehicle bodies. Shares of OSK traded higher by 16.14% or $4.67/share to $33.61. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $24.63 and as high as $40.11. On average, 1522800 shares of OSK exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 8089554.
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